BooksBarbecue
Back Nothing to See
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

The useful thing about the job at the call centre was that the call centre wanted you to be more like a machine than a person. ‘It’s like having a spare,’ their boss, Duncan, joked at the interview. They both laughed, because he seemed happy with that. He couldn’t pay for both of them, though. There was the one tax number thing, but also some people wouldn’t like it if they both came to work together day after day. That would take a lot of effort for some of the people at the call centre. People didn’t like to offend people, and no one knew how not to offend people like Peggy and Greta – they’d have to work at it, and that took effort. Some people were better at it than others and Duncan had to be fair to the ones who found it harder to read them as one. It was asking too much. People would get uncomfortable. People could do it on the street or in the supermarket – in passing – but this was people’s workplace. You couldn’t ask them to do that.

Peggy and Greta said it was fine. They could handle that, no sweat. They had in the past and they could again. They didn’t say it out loud, but a small amount of regular money was easier than not being sure. They’d get commission on top of the awfully low base rate. They asked, respectfully, if they could do double shifts. Duncan said it was a very good question, but he thought probably not. He’d have to file the tax returns and there were labour laws and they only had one tax number and it would be hard to explain. Greta and Peggy said that, really, it wasn’t that hard to explain. They would be happy to explain it. But Duncan said no, it didn’t seem fair. Nobody talked much about any of it, but most people were pretty sure Peggy and Greta shouldn’t get an advantage from it. Most people were sure that just because one day there were suddenly two of you that shouldn’t entitle you to anything that people who were still only one couldn’t get. That’s what Duncan said he thought most people would think. ‘But we’ll never know,’ Duncan said, and he was right, because no one talked about it. It had been weird of them to ask, but Duncan seemed immune to awkwardness. Duncan needed call centre staff and he was just trying to make it turn out in a way that worked for him.

‘That’s what I’m offering,’ he said.

Peggy and Greta nodded, and Peggy said, ‘We’ll take it,’ and they all laughed.